Thomas Siniecki, Media365: published on Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 10:59 p.m.
Jessica Pegula created quite a sensation in Flushing Meadows, sweeping aside a philosophical Iga Swiatek.
A setback. This is clearly what Iga Swiatek is arguing for her surprising defeat, especially given its magnitude, in the quarter-finals of the US Open against Jessica Pegula (6-2, 6-4) when nothing suggested it. It is out of the question for her to think about a break or anything like that, already because it is “very difficult to come back after an absence of several months”: “I am ready to play until November, unless I get injured. Last season, I felt a lot of anxiety and pressure as world number 1, I had the impression that I could lose this place. But each year has its different challenges and I felt that less this season. I feel more mature, I don’t really think about the ranking and points anymore.”
“I always try to have lower expectations, otherwise I perform less well.”
The Polish player, however, indicates that she does not yet have enough experience to judge whether Paris 2024 played a role in this premature elimination, while the preparation on hard courts was necessarily shortened compared to a classic calendar, due to the return to clay at Roland-Garros at the end of July. On this little slap suffered in New York, she just did not understand why her serve was not working, among the main explanations.
“She was much stronger than me, she put pressure on me and I made too many mistakes to make her back down like usual.” True to her more mature line of conduct, she “always tries to have lower expectations, because otherwise, I never perform”: “It’s difficult to have low expectations when everyone is waiting, but I focus more on the work than on the results to solve the problems.” Such is the life of a world No. 1 who, at her level, is going through a bad patch, that of a series of three consecutive major tournaments not won with Wimbledon, Paris 2024 and therefore the US Open.
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